Method of straightening metal pieces



June 9, 1925.

I. D. THOMAS ET AL METHOD OF" STRAIGHTENING METAL PIECES FiledQec. 29, 1919 s Sheets-' -Sheet 1 June 9, 19 25. I

1. D. THOMAS ET AL METHOD on STRAIGHTENING METAL PIECES s Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed. Dec. 29, 191.9

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' I. D. THOMAS ET'.AL

METHOD OF STHAIGHTENING METAL PIECES Filed Dec. 29, 1919 3 Sheets Sheet 5 Ki i Patented June :9, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT"OFF1CE.

I IVOR D. THOMAS, O F-OLEVELAND HEIGHTS, AND PAUL H. DOUGLAS, OF EAST CLEVE- LAND. OHIO, ASSIGHQRS TO THE WELLMAN-SEAVER-MORGAN COMPANY, OF CLEVE I AND, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

METHOD OF STRAIGHTENING METAL PIECES.

Application filed December 29, 1919. Serial No. 347,887.

.-To all whom it may 'comern:

Be it known that we, Ivon D. THOMAS and PAUL H. DoUoLAs, citizens of the United 'States, and residents, respectiv'el of Gleveof straightening annular or substantially. annular pieces of metal.

- The principal object of, the invention is to provide a method by which pieces of the cha'racter'stated may be effectively straightened and converted tostraight billets which then can be transferred to and run through a rolling mill to convert them to rails or pieces of other shapes and any purposes. de-' sired. Notwithstanding the fact that this method has special utility for straightening circular or substantially circular pieces, we wish to make clearthe fact that the method can be employed advantageously for straightening curved or crooked pieces which may not in shape approximate a circle. V

i In the ag'companying sheets of drawings,

Fig. 1 1s a plan ylcw of the straightening mill; Fig. 2 is an end View with the apparatus as shown in Fig. 1 viewed from the bottom'of the sheet, but omitting a portion of the power mechanism for rotating the straightening rolls; Fig. 3 is a sectional view through the mill proper, the section being taken at right angles to the direction of feed of the pieces being straightened, substantially along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows; Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view substantially along the line 4-4 of Fig. 1; and Figs. 5 to 9 are diagrammatic views illustrating the manner in which a circular piece is converted to a straight bar'or billet.

The mill whichmay be employed in the practice of our invention includes a frame or body 10. with a flat horizontal table 11, on which the pit-(TS to be straightened are placed by a ('lftllQ or manipulator'in the utility as already pointed out. The table 11 on which the piece 12 tobe straightened is placed, contains a radial slot 13 to accon'imoglatc a. saw-to cut the circular piece after it is placed on the table and clamped in position by the rolls as will be explained subsequently. Y

Supported by the frame or bed 10 are two sets of straightening rolls, one set 14 being mounted on fixed vertical rotary spindles 15, adjacent the horizontal table 11. The

other set of rolls includes two power driven straightening rolls 16, mounted on vertical spindles 17, and an intermediate roll 18 -mounted on a spindle 19 which is not power driven.

The three rolls 16, 16 and 18 are movable as a unit toward and from the rollsl by power operated mechanism, and to that end they are mounted in a cross head 20, slidingly mounted in two guide-ways 10 of the frame or bed 10, the latter having an open center to accommodate the movement of the cross-head and the rolls carried by it.

The cross-head is movable along "the guide-ways to shift the movable rolls toward and from the relatively fixed rolls by a screw 21, which at its inner end has a universal connection at 22 with the cross-head.

'lhis screw isshifted to vary the distance be-' tween the two sets of rolls and to control the pressure of the rollers againstthe piece designated as a whole by the reference character 24, to a sleeve 25, (see Fig. 3) rotatably mounted but held against endwise movemrnl. in a housing 26 and serving as a nut which is threaded interiorly and engages the screw.

It was heretofore stated that the forward or inner end of the screw has universal connection with the cross-head. This connection includes a substantiallycylindrical socket 2'2 on the cross-head receiving a substantially cylindrical piece 22" having a slot in. which the reduced flat inner end of the screw extends, and in which it is secured by a transverse pin 22. It will be observed by reference to Fig. 4, that the slot is somewhat wider than the reduced end of the screw which allows a certain amount of side play between the cross-head and screw which is independent of the universal motion. This feature is provided to relieve the universal connection of strains incident to wear which may take place in the guideways for the cross-head, it being understood that with the rollers operating-in one direction during the straightening process, there is a tendency to press the crosshcad against one of the guide-ways, and should-wear occur in the guide-ways thisconstruction allows the cross-head as a whole to move laterally slightly without imposing any abnormal strains on the universal connection.

The straightening rolls are adapted to be rotated by a motdr 27, located at the side of the bed 10, which motor through gearing which may designated as a whole by the reference chaj-racter 28, drives two spindles 29" 1'and 30 with the universal connections at-iboth ends, which spindles through bevel gearing 31 drive the roll supporting hpindles 15 and 17, it being understood that by this mechanism the cros-head carrying the movable straightening rolls 16 can be shifted without in the least interfering with the drivi action. a

In pr ucinga straight bar or billet from a piece of metal in the form of a ring or'annulus, the mill is used in the following manner. The ring is placed on the "table 11, in such a way as to surround the "rolls 14, substantially in the manner illustrated in Fig. 1 by dotted lines, and in Fig. 5 by full lines. Then power is applied to the cross-head to shiftthe latter and the movable rolls toward the ring until the latter is held between'the two rolls 14 and the iniddle movable roll 18, as indicated in Fig. 5. The annular piece 12 may be sawed! before being placed on the table of the straightening mill, but if not a saw is run into the slot13 of the table, and the piece is sawed, as indicated at li in Fig. 5, the slot or cut thus formed being diametrically opposite from the rolls which gri the ring. Then the motor 27 is started and t e driving rolls are rotated in a counter-clockwise di rection so as to revolve. the ring about its axis until the sawed slot 12 is substantially inthe position shown in Fig. 6,. it being understood that so farthere has been no straightening action. Then the cross-head shifting motor 23 is again started, and the cross'head is moved upwardly until the distance between the rollers 14 and,16 has been reduced to practically the thickness of the piece 12. This brings all the rollers in contact with the piece 12, prodhcing a heated, but Zfor light work ing can be done in the cold. A piece-which is not circular in j f o'rm plied to the driving rollers so 'as to them again in a counter-clockwise (.llI'OULI'I i.

bringing the piece to be straightened to the p'ositionjsubstantially as shown in Fig. 8.

Then-the driving rollers arereversed'so as to feed the piece to the left in the mannerindicated in Fig. 9,. at which time the remaining portion of the piece is straightened, and the piece is delivered onto a table car, or receiving the mill. It mig t be mentioned at this point, that between the rolls 14, 14, afwearing plate 32 is provided to prevent the end of the bar which passes beyond the left hand pair of rollers 14 and 16, when the piece is moved from the the osition shown in Fig. 8 from fouling on tie roller 14 in front ofthe end of the piece when the latter re-enters between the two rollers.

In practice, for straightening large or.

heavy pieces? the latter. will be first suitably, the straighterp could be straightened with our improved mill. in substantially the same way that a piece circular or ;substantially circular is straightened.

Having described our claim invention, we

1. The method of straightening which.

comprises placing a piece to be straightened between two sets of rolls, applying power to one set so as to move it toward the other and straighten the section of the piece between the rolls, rotating the rolls in one direction so as to-straighten the portion of the piece at' one end of the section which has been straightened, and then in ,a reverse direction to straighten the portion on the other side of the straightened section.

. 2. The method of converting an annular piece into a straight piece, which comprises squeezing a portion of the annulus between rolls so as to straighten it, and then driving the rolls first in one direction and then-the other so as to straighten the remaining .portions of the annulus on both sides of the portion first straightened.

I In testimony whereof, we hereunto affix' our signatures.

- I IVOR D. THOMAS.

PAUL H. DOUGLAS.

I'platform atone side 0 1 position shown in Fig. 7 to Y 3... pasta;

' dram 

